Our World Cup Fantasy allegiance is still up for grabs so we’re busily sifting through all the available games as they launch on your behalf. Here at Fantasy Football Scout we are currently looking at the official Fifa/McDonalds coalition as a game to support. There are many other parties out there looking to tempt you over to their platforms though and we will run the rule over the finer details of those prior to the tournament. Let’s move on to another of the recent launches then and see what the Metro World Cup game is offering…
First and foremost this game is free to enter, but comes with a restriction of only being a game available for people based in the UK and the Republic of Ireland; as well as the many hundreds of thousands of Fantasy Managers currently reading this in the Channel Islands too. So if you’re based in Sweden, Switzerland or South Korea (etc), unfortunately this game is off the radar.
Not content with being free – much like the paper the game stems from – Metro have still found the sheckles to offer some nice prizes along the way. The eventual winner will walk away with £3000 for their four weeks work and there’s also the option (to pay) to enter some extra tournaments which will also be handing out cash prizes.
If the World Cup is all about the important mini-league at work or in your social group then Metro also offer to take up some of the grind for you. If you want to play for money (ranging from £2 to £100 entry) Metro will do all the grunt work – for a 10% charge of course. That means no more chasing the tight wad in the office for failing to pay up his entry fee. It’s no pay, no play. A interesting little feature.
As for the nitty gritty of the game itself; Fantasy Managers are handed £100m to choose a 15-man squad in a pattern identical to the Fantasy Premier League game – more than enough money to choose a decent lineup from, especially as there are some very interesting under-priced options out there if you look hard enough.
After that, things begin to deviate from the norm a little. The tried and tested “captain scores double” methodology is in this game, but with greater restrictions – you can only pass the armband around a maximum of 5 times all tournament, giving Managers little or no time to procrastinate. Transfer usage also carries a limit too, with only 20 transfers in your armoury through the entire tournament. So you’ll need to keep aware of just how likely your squad members will make it through the following rounds, you don’t want to get caught out and be unable to field a full team.
Did you find the scoring in the McFantasy game complex? Well the Metro game pushes your managerial talents too. The commuter’s rag not only mines Opta stats for points scoring, but has also decided to inflate the points on offer too.
A simple goal from a striker or midfielder will earn your fantasy team 25 points, defenders gather 40 points, while on the off chance a keeper can pull a Paul Robinson (not missing ball thanks to a Gary Neville back-pass bobble) and get a goal themselves, they will haul in a whopping 50 points. For every hat-trick a player scores they will also receive a supplementary bonus of 25 points.
Defensive duties also offer extra incentive with two points on offer for every save, interception, clearance, blocked shot or successful tackle a player makes; with the attacking bonus being a point for every successful pass made in the final third of the pitch and 5 points for every shot that is on target. Those defensive points are of particular interest. We’ve seen with the Guardian game of old that this can see dominant defenders from, shall we say, more mid-table sides, lead the rankings (Michael Turner anyone?). It will be interesting to see what bearing this has on the leading defenders in the game but going with the strongest defensive sides to gather clean sheets may not be the best route. The nine points earned for a clean sheet from a top price defender can be bettered by half a dozen clearances and blocks from a mid-price option.
The attacking and defensive bonus are just for starters; be prepared for large points returns in this game. It’s definitely a whole new kettle of fish to get to grips with for Fantasy Premier League veterans. It’s well worth check out the rules in this area to see if this game suits your tastes because for us, the totals flying about and the reliance on obscure defensive points jars a little and may well put off a more casual mini-league Manager.
On the whole this looks like a decent effort for those UK (and ROI) based Managers, especially those looking looking to set up a mini-league with friends and colleagues alike. But be warned, there’s an opinion that the Metro have struggled with their previous games. This may well prove to be a more solid platform however.